Customer Reviews

When You Were Me

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Rodi is back with his new novel after quite a break but he brings back all the good and bad parts of his writing. He is witty and funny, he is able to make a head start but then... it doesn't all go on that well. His characters are not always convincing, the story line depends too much on coincidence and magic (Yes, I know you can't switch bodies without magic but it can be done better! At least in books.) to be credible. Social criticism is quite shallow here and I missed strong women (and not so strong women) from the earlier novels.
In short - not exactly a must-have and if you are still in love with Fag Hag and Kept Boy it may be something of a disappointment but you won't know until you've tried. If this is the first Rodi the purchase of which you are contemplating, I would suggest one of the earlier ones, which incidentally may not be that easy as they are all out of print for a while.

I rarely write online review, but I have to say that I loved reading this book. Heart-felt, without being sentimental. It doesn't fall into the obvious plot devices that you would expect from the usual trading lives scenario. This one's a keeper!

I must say that I totally loved this book. It's extremely funny and the story is quite intriguing. There are plenty of twists in the story to keep you wondering what is going to happen next. It was a really enjoyable read and the ending was excellent.

I have to admit if this wasn't at a half price bookstore I may have never picked it up. It's a tired premise, but the blurb and cover design looked promising. It began well...I thought it would be quite a funny book. By half way it seemed to me as if the author needed to fill space in order to make this novel over 400 pages and hardbound worthy. I struggled with complete boredom and a serious lack of determination to finish it. I'm very glad I did not pay full price for it. Though there were some good moments and a few giggles it just felt like the same old spin on a storyline that's maybe been done too many times to feel fresh.

At 53, Jack Ackerly has a life that many would envy. He sold his public relations firm for a fortune several years ago, making him independently wealthy and able to do pretty much anything he wants. But what he really wants is most of his years back to do over. Having always been busy with studies and work, Jack missed the supposedly "wild years" as a young gay man. He had been in a relationship with Harry, nine years his junior, for over twenty years, until Harry left him to find someone younger and more flexible in outlook. Every ache and pain, every gray hair, the news that his younger sister is now a grandmother, the realization that the gay dating scene is geared only to athletic 20-somethings, even his therapist's diagnosis that he just needs to stop feeling sorry for himself ... all of these things make Jack desperate to find a way to recapture his youth. Francesca, an eccentric "fusion witch" he consults thinks there may be a way.

Enter 26 year old Cory Szaslo, unemployed and about to get thrown out of his apartment, who realizes that his years of drug use and constant partying in his younger days have pretty much doomed him to a lifetime of boring minimum wage jobs, failed relationships and a constant battle to survive. He wishes he had his short adult life to do over again, but realizes that isn't going to happen. If only there was some way he could trade this life in for one that wasn't so difficult.

Upon running into Cory (literally, he hits him with his car while daydreaming about being young again), Jack offers him a unique "business arrangement": trading bodies. Francesca believes that a spell can put Jack's mind in Cory's body, and vice versa. To make the arrangement pay off for Cory, Jack proposes that they would trade lives as well. Cory would become Jack, with his luxury condo and all of his money, assets and contacts, while Jack would live Cory's humble life.

To both of their surprises, the spell works, and they go their separate ways. Jack (now Cory) initially tries to party like the 26 year old his body tells him he is, but finds that his maturity and experience makes the experience get old very quickly. Cory (now as Jack) tries to cope with Jack's severe allergies, tries to go on a workout regime to tone up Jack's otherwise-healthy body, and tries to step into Jack's life with his acquaintances that Jack had briefed him on. Just when both are thinking this might not be as easy as they had imagined, Harry becomes a part of both of their lives, for Jack (in Cory's body) as a pickup at a restaurant, and for Cory (in Jack's body) when Harry leaves his younger lover and wants to come back to him. Can the spell be reversed, and put them back in their own bodies?

After having been a huge fan of Rodi's tongue-in-cheek gay novels (from 1991's "Fag Hag" to 2002's "Bitch Goddess"), I was overjoyed at the announcement of his new book, and it was well worth waiting for. As usual, Rodi spins his story and characters with great depth and an satirical wit, with a underlying message that strikes a chord with gay readers. It is a wry commentary on the gay male obsession with youth (Both Jack and Cory regret their "younger days" are behind them!) and how our real and "extended" family becomes a vital part of our lives. An engaging, intelligent book, which I rate five HUGE BOLD stars out of five! Don't miss it!

rodi's always good for a wry witty tale with a moral underpinning. Although the gay twist on an old plot isn't original, his take on it is, and the quips keep on coming. Worth a read at the pool with friends, where you can read a few gems aloud.

I was so excited about the release of this book. I always loved Robert Rodi and his intelligent, witty satires that always had lots of heart and lots of laughs with meaning.

It felt like this book was written by another writer. The snap and polish he always had is now gone and I find the way he has interpreted gay life as a major flaw and the main problem with this book. I took offense.

I am a 46 gay man and in no way look at life with such pessimism and self pity as the main character here. I don't wish I was young and yes, there were many things I would have done differently. I am proud of my years and experience and hate the superficial stereo-types so many put on gays.

I find those in their 20s react to me the same as those in their 30s, 40s etc. It is the person I am who lives life with a positive outlook and a heart that is very young people react to. All of us are as young as we feel.

I thought this book might bring some insight to me as a middle aged gay man about life and couldn't wait to share it with Mr. Rodi, his excellent writing and all his excellent characters.

I found all the characters very unreal and one dimensional. This was a sad excuse for fiction. I don't want to read a book just because it is gay. I still want quality literature.

I can wait for Stephen McCauley to write a new book. He always stays true to his valued art form. For those of you who love this book, there is so much gay literature out there with depth and meaning that will be a real literary experience rather than being like a read of a glossy gay magazine.